A twisted Vicheysoisse, among other things…

For the last year or so, I have been making and selling seasonal soups at our local pop-up market.  A soup that I made on a whim, and which we enjoyed, didn’t take off, so I didn’t make it again.  In my recollection, there had been no sales.  Then, imagine my surprise, two Saturdays’ ago, a regular, who has been stocking up on soup, said, “What about that one you made with spinach and sweet potato?”

So, at Jean’s request, I made it again – this time in the height of summer.  Consequently, we tried it chilled:  it was as delicious cold as it was hot.  So, this is my twisted Vicheysoisse:

Roast the sweet potatoes – with onion and garlic if you like – for about 45 minutes.  Add to a large soup pot and then add roughly shredded spinach (including all the stalks – why waste them when you’re going to puree the soup anyway?), followed by vegetable stock to cover the sweet potato.   Bring to the boil and simmer for about half an hour, until all the vegetables are soft.  Puree with a hand blender and season to taste.  Serve with a swirl of plain yoghurt and a grating of nutmeg.

And, of course, the soup-making was accompanied by more seasonal quiche fillings – this time, with the addition of beautiful peppers from the garden.  Two different fillings – first, leeks with red pepers and then roasted vegetables (butternut, sweet potato, garlic, baby tomatoes, onions and peppers).